WHAT THE PAPERS SAY – Rape and male politicians

Rape is having a moment, but not in a good way, says Louise Mensch in The Daily Telegraph.

On both sides of the Atlantic, from the Left and the Right, male politicians and two-bit "public figures" have lined up, not to condemn rape, "but to minimise and dismiss it as a crime". It started with the Assange apologists and left-wing commentators dismissing the charges against him as "not rape". George Galloway waded in, saying that once in the "sex game", women didn't need to be asked permission "prior to each insertion". Yes they do George. "Sexual consent is not football: you can't buy a season ticket." Then there's US congressman Todd Akin's cracker that women can't get pregnant from "legitimate rape". These male politicians represent "the tip of an iceberg of resentment and base sexism" in society. Feminism still has "a long way to go".

SEX, WIKILEAKS AND US POWER
The Julian Assange dispute would never have gone global if it was just about a man wanted for questioning over sex crime allegations in Stockholm, says Seumas Milne in The Guardian. This is really about WikiLeaks opening up US global power to democratic scrutiny. Confronted with this "threat" to its interests, the US is preparing a case against Assange for espionage. The solution to the current standoff with Ecuador is obvious. The Swedish government could pledge to block the extradition of Assange to the US for any WikiLeaks-related offence and Britain could agree not to sanction extradition to a third country once Swedish proceedings are over – then justice for Assange's Swedish accusers could be served, while offering protection to whistleblowers. "But with loyalty to the US on the line, Assange shouldn't expect to leave the embassy any time soon."